Utricularia biflora Lam.

Two Flower Bladderwort; Longspur Creeping Bladderwort

Herb

Annual

Vascular

Two Flower Bladderwort is a native aquatic perennial in the Bladderwort family (Lentibulariaceae). It occurs in shallow water of ponds, lakes, roadside ditches, and slow-moving streams. Two Flower Bladderwort is found throughout Alabama. It is a perennial with free floating stems forming tangled mats. The plants sometimes become stranded due to low water levels. The stems are green in color. Leaves are alternate, linear, flattened, and forked twice. Small hollow traps (bladders) are produced along the margins of the leaf segments. The bladders are hollow with a hinged lid. The plant pumps the water out of the bladder trap creating negative pressure. There are bristle like “triggers” located near the opening. When a small animal touches the bristles, the lid of the trap opens inward, sucking in water and the animal. The lid then closes and the prey is digested. Flowers are produced on 1-3 flowered racemes held above the water’s surface. Individual flowers are stalked with a small, green, ovate bract subtending the pedicel. The corolla is bright yellow in color, 2-lipped, with the upper lip larger and 3-lobed and the lower lip un-lobed or with an irregular margin. The lower lip is equal to or slightly shorter than the horn-shaped spur. The fruit is a round capsule. Two Flower Bladderwort is very similar to Humped Bladderwort (Utricularia gibba Linnaeus), and is included in that species by many authors. It differs in having slightly larger flowers, a longer spur, and leaves usually forked twice.—A. Diamond.

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Native

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